Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and his wife Susie face FIA probe following complaints from F1 rivals over alleged conflict of interest first raised by Mail Sport

• Probe launched following remarks by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff
• Susie Wolff is employed by F1 as managing director of women-only F1 Academy 
• F1 rivals have raised concerns with FIA over the Wolffs’ dual involvement

Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and his wife Susie are under investigation by the FIA compliance department for a potential conflict of interest.

This is yet another potential embarrassment for Wolff as he seeks to hold on to his job after a dismal season.

The 51-year-old Austrian has only just been handed an official warning by the stewards for a foul-mouthed outburst at last month’s Las Vegas Grand Prix, where he defended the owners of the sport, Liberty Media — to whom his wife Susie, a 40-year-old former racing driver — is contracted to run the women-only F1 Academy.

He criticised those doubting the event when practice was delayed after a manhole cover was dislodged and came within inches of causing serious harm to Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Now the FIA have acted on the broader conflict which was touched upon in Las Vegas.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and his wife Susie are at the centre of an FIA investigation

On Tuesday night they issued an unprecedented statement, saying: ‘The FIA is aware of media speculation centred on the allegation of a confidential nature being passed on to an FIA team principal from a member of FOM personnel (a reference to the sport’s owners Liberty — Formula One Management). The FIA compliance department is looking into the matter.’

Mail Sport first reported the potential conflict of interest with regard to Wolff’s remarks in Las Vegas in response to my questioning. The matter has been amplified in Business F1 under the headline ‘Team principals seek a resolution over Wolff’s conflicts of interest’.

It is reported there — and independently verified by this newspaper — that a number of Wolff’s peers have raised concerns with the FIA over the Wolffs’ dual involvement.

FOM said: ‘We note the public statement made by the FIA this evening that was not shared with us in advance.

‘We have complete confidence that the allegations are wrong, and we have robust processes in place that ensure the segregation of information and responsibilities in the event of any potential conflict of interest. We are confident that no member of our team has made any unauthorised disclosure to a team principal and would caution anyone against making imprudent and serious allegations without substance.’

Susie Wolff said she was ‘deeply insulted but sadly unsurprised by the public allegations’ and that the accusations were ‘rooted in intimidatory and misogynistic behaviour’.

Mercedes said: ‘We note the generic statement from the FIA, which responds to unsubstantiated allegations from a single media outlet (Business F1), and the off-record briefing which has linked it to the team principal of Mercedes. We wholly reject the allegation and associated media coverage, which wrongly impinges on the integrity and compliance of our team principal.’

The FIA probe is the latest embarrassment for Lewis Hamilton’s team this season

Source: Read Full Article